You and Me
by ClairePuff
Summary: Ash is alone. He looks up at the stars-and so do his friends. One-shot.


So, this is my first fanfic! I wrote it, and decided this was a good time to make a profile. This may or may not have some Rocketshipping and Contestshipping. It depends on how you look at it. Also, Dawn and Zoey act a bit weirdly, but I did my best to make it a friendly relationship. Have fun reading!

* * *

I held my best friend tightly and quietly sobbed into his soft fur.

"It's…always…you…and me…huh, buddy?" He licked my cheek.

"Pikapi…" I looked up, and saw tears glimmering in his eyes too. I glanced up at the stars. They were so bright, I knew everyone must be watching them. Oh,  
how I wished they were here with me now. Misty, with that fiery temper, and her ridiculous Psyduck. Brock, with his amazing cooking and mismatched group of  
Pokémon. May and her Wartortle, who grew so much after they left. Max and Ralts, best of friends until the end, and Munchlax, always eating. Dawn, insane as she was, would always be like a little sister. And Gary, too. My old friend from Pallet. We'd grown up together, and even a period of tough rivalry couldn't tear us apart. I lay back in my sleeping bag and stared at the stars again. I connected the dots, and saw everyone that had ever meant anything to me. I turned to Pikachu, who had crawled in beside me.

"You and me…but that's okay." The little electric Pokémon looked at me sleepily and I hugged him again.

"Because everyone is with us, always."

A redhead stood behind the Cerulean Gym. She looked up atthe stars, and tears pricked her eyes.

"I miss you, Ash Ketchum. And you, Brock. And May, and Max, and especially Pikachu…" She sniffled. A yellow duck walked up behind her.

"Psy?" The girl jumped.

"Oh, Psyduck. You scared me." She knelt down and hugged the confused Pokémon. He pointed to the gym. All the Pokémon that could walk were standing there, all looking concerned. A voice echoed from inside the gym.

"Misty? Where are you? Daisy says it's way past time to sleep, but she can't if you're out here." The girl took one last look at the stars.

"Catch you later, Ash." she whispered. In a louder voice, she called,

"Coming, Tracey!" The yellow duck in her arms, Misty slowly walked into the gym.

A dark-skinned man looked up at the stars. They're beautiful tonight, he thought. It took him back to a time when all that mattered was where the next gym or contest was.

"We were all so carefree." A small blue mudfish jumped into his arms. He felt her belly. It was big.

"I'm gonna have to send Misty one of these little ones when they get old enough."

"Mud!" the mudfish Pokémon agreed.

"Brock!" A voice called from inside the nearby house. "I'm still no good at cooking, so I was wondering…" Brock chuckled to himself.

"Just a minute, Mom." he called back. He took one last look at the stars. See you, Ash, he thought. Mudkip rubbed his head with hers. He laughed and entered the house.

A young brunette stood on the balcony. Her hands clenched the railing, as she breathed in the forest air. Deep in Ilex Forest, the stars shone as bright as a flashlight. She felt tears drip down her face. God, I miss you, she thought unhappily. The forest sounds were soothing, but she felt sadness wash over her. Nearby, a Wortortle watched the sky, too. A teenage boy, roughly the same age as the brunette, stepped out onto the balcony with two steaming mugs. He approached the girl.

"May?" The brunette turned.

"Mm? What is it, Drew?" she asked. He handed her a mug and looked up at the stars.

"They sure are bright tonight." May nodded and sniffed the mug.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked, surprised. Drew nodded. May took a little sip.

"Still not as good as Brock's." she smiled as the boy sighed.

"I try. I think I'm getting better." May nodded again.

"Yes, you are." They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"What are you thinking about?" the green-haired boy broke the silence. The brunette cocked her head.

"I was missing Ash and Brock and Max, but…" she leaned into the boy, who, slightly shocked, wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. Wartortle, feeling left out, jumped into May's arms like he did when he was a Squirtle. She hugged him.

"…I'm not so lonely anymore."

Deep in Viridian Forest, another boy was watching the stars. He sighed in regret. The Ralts next to him frowned.

_Why so sad, Max?_

Max glanced over at his Pokémon friend.

"Just…thinking of May. I wonder if she ever worries about Munchlax." the boy glanced over at the voracious eater, who was sleeping soundly. He sighed.

"I hope she's doing okay."

_I'm sure she's fine._

"And…I miss traveling with others. You're great, and I wouldn't trade traveling with you for the world, but…I wish I could experience things with other people, too."

_I'd like that. New Pokémon and trainers to meet. I want to have other friends, just like you._

Max glanced at his good friend, a bit surprised, but he smiled.

"We should do that, then. Find some people to travel with."

_Yes. We should._

A bluenette, around the backside of a contest hall in the Sinnoh region, sighed and glanced up at the stars.

"Beautiful tonight." The redhead who spoke walked towards the other girl. The bluenette continued to stare at the sky.

"Yeah." She sighed again. The redhead wrapped an arm around the sad girl's shoulders.

"What's up, Dawn?" She squeezed Dawn's shoulders, and the girl frowned.

"I'm…kind of lonely. I wonder if all Ash's companion's feel like this at times." The redhead glanced at her friend.

"You miss traveling with Ash and Brock?" The girl asked. Dawn nodded.

"Although, it's nice that I'm still in the same region as you, Zoey." Zoey blushed.

"Thanks, Dawn." The two stood in a companionable silence for a while. Then, suddenly, Dawn blurted out,

"Will you travel with me?" Zoey looked at her friend in surprise.

"Me?" Dawn nodded, and Zoey laughed.

"Oh Dawn, I'd love to! I admit, I was getting kind of lonely too." The two girls smiled at each other.

"Let's go get a room at the Pokémon Center, then." They set off, away from the contest hall, but Dawn took one last moment to glance at the beautiful stars.

Outside the famous Oak Laboratory, a brown-haired teenager, sitting against a tree trunk, mumbled in his sleep. A nearby Umbreon, sick of waiting for his trainer to wake up, snarled in the boy's face. The boy jerked awake and yelped as he slid to the side.

"Umbreon, you could have been a bit nicer," he grumbled, standing and brushing dirt and leaf litter off his trousers. He glanced up at the sky and froze.

"Well, would you look at that. The stars sure are shining bright tonight." The Umbreon followed his trainer's gaze.

"If I were Grandpa, I'd be spouting poetry right about now." he laughed. "The stars shine bright…I could never do that." The Umbreon watched his trainer and sighed. There was no stopping him when he took a trip down memory lane.

"I wonder how Ash and his friends are doing. That one girl always knew me as 'the poetry guy's grandson'. Dawn, I think her name was. I wonder how she's doing?" Umbreon growled and tugged his trainer's sleeve. Gary laughed again, but there was a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

"All right, all right." He followed Umbreon back to the Oak Lab, but not before glancing at the stars on more time.

A Meowth-shaped hot air balloon floated gently through the air. A red-haired woman stared dreamily at the stars. A purple-haired man was asleep, laying on the floor of the basket. He slowly woke as the basket encountered some slight turbulence. He saw the woman standing by the edge.

"Mm…Jessie, what're you doing?" The woman glanced at him.

"Oh, James, you're awake. Look at the stars tonight. They're so…peaceful." She sighed. A Meowth, silent until now, nodded.

"I know how you feel, Jess. I don't wanna even catch Pikachu right now." James stood up and stretched, then put an arm around Jessie. She cuddled into him.

"It's pretty, isn't it, James?" Jessie asked. James nodded. He watched the stars for a while, then blinked and gently poked his partner.

"We should get some rest. Whatever happens tomorrow, sleep is always important." Jessie nodded.

"You're right, James." She glanced at the stars one last time.

"I wonder where the twerp is now?" She wondered. James shrugged, and the two Rockets curled up together on the floor of the basket. Meowth jumped into his usual spot, cuddled in Jessie's arms. The three fell asleep almost immediately, as the wind carried them gently away.

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...and so ends my first fanfic! I'm experimenting with spacing, so if you think it looks to cluttered in the longer paragraphs, please tell me! Also, I know it gets annoying, but please review. I need some feedback on my stories. Any kind of constructive criticism is welcome.

Thanks for reading,

ClairePuff out.


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